


Everybody Hates Me

by ailaikclarke



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Cheryl is an assassin, Choni endgame, Established Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz, F/F, I love me some drama, choni
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-05-19 01:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14864322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ailaikclarke/pseuds/ailaikclarke
Summary: Cheryl Blossom: student by day and assassin by night. Toni Topaz: student by day and clueless girlfriend by night.ORWhat happens when you're an assassin and your next assignment is your girlfriend?





	1. Sociopath

Sociopath.

It was the first word that came to her mind whenever someone would ask:

“What’s a word you’d use to describe yourself?”

She had grown fond of it, realizing it was the perfect way to describe who she was and how she behaved.

It had started in High School, where people would call her a psychopath because of the mean things she said and did to her schoolmates. When her brother was murdered, people started to assume it was her doing, that her psychosis had finally reached its peak.

She was only seventeen when the word sociopath was finally associated with her being.

Psychopath appeared to be the wrong definition to many people, because they knew that she didn’t completely lack empathy, nor sense of guilt. They knew she would never hurt the people she cared about and that she was aware of the consequences her actions might have.

Cheryl the sociopath was feared by most people and that made it a quite hard to form relationships with her peers. She was often alone after her brother’s death, but that didn’t always mean feeling lonely.

The first year of college mirrored perfectly her High School experience. She was dealing with more people, but they all still thought she was weird and dangerous.

She had made the mistake of choosing a college that wasn’t too far from Riverdale and ended up with most of her old schoolmates around her.

Cheryl had a secret.                                                                                                                                                                

She was an assassin, working for an agency that worked with rich people who wanted people dead, usually for petty reasons. Technically, she wasn’t allowed to know the story behind an assassination, but the closest thing she had to a friend, Simon, was the one who assigned the various assassinations and they usually spent their Friday nights together drinking wine and laughing at why people wanted other people dead.

She would always read those files after the assassination was done, so it didn’t really matter. It was still fun to see how some people thought putting onions on a sandwich was a valid reason to be murdered.

Simon would text her whenever he had a job for her, he would send her the person’s file and a deadline and she’d set out a plan. She usually preferred to do it at night, simply because it made everything a bit easier. Her weapon of choice was her signature bow, which made everything quicker, easier and cleaner.

She hadn’t had any assignments in weeks, but still remembered the last time she pierced a man’s heart with an arrow.

It had felt normal.

Like a routine.

It was three in the morning, during a particularly cold Canadian winter. She was used to the snow and the unforgiving nights, but the snow had proven to be tricky when she was planning an assassination.

She was waiting for her target to get back from a work trip, which Cheryl knew was code for a night out at a motel with someone who’s not my official partner.

The best thing about assassinations at night was the silence.

It gave her time to think, to stay grounded, to feel normal.

She thought about how common her life had turned out to be. She thought about the dinner she had consumed with her cousin only mere hours before the time to strike. She thought about the red dress she wore at the restaurant, now traded in favour of black pants, a black shirt and her black hunting cape. She thought about the glass of wine she had during dinner and how she worried for a moment that it might taint her aim. She thought about the stories Betty told her about the party they attended together and how she had had to leave earlier than usual because of an assignment.

Waiting was the worst part.

Because it seemed to last forever, while the actual assassination lasted for a few moments. She steadied her bow, fixed the arrow, aimed, let the string go.

And it was done.

“It has been silent for a while, huh?” She asked Simon one Friday night.

Simon smiled while handing her a folder. “Well, it’s mostly because we’ve been getting a lot of requests from really strange people who want their victims to die in specific ways and I know it’s not your thing.”

“I do a lot of different things.”

“I know.” Simon shrugged. “You don’t do sodomy, though.”

“Nope, absolutely not.” Cheryl replied. “I like keeping my distance.”

“I told you, I know what you’re up for and what is a no-no on your list.”

“So, this one said this person crashed into their child’s car and almost killed them. I can see why you’d want them dead. This one, on the other hand, said they got them the wrong gift for their birthday.” Cheryl rolled her eyes. “Ah, yes. I had this one. You buy a wrong gift and end up with an arrow in the heart. How nice.”

“We have a really weird job.”

“Well, I do.” Cheryl commented. “You have a fun one.”

“This is definitely not what my mother meant when she told me to get a job to pay for college.”

“I’m pretty sure my mother would approve.” Cheryl said. “And that would be a first.”

“How did you find this job anyways? It’s not like you need it.”

“I didn’t find it, they recruited me.” Cheryl replied. “I was actually still in High School when they did. I’m too good with my bow.”

“I almost forgot, since you seem so keen on having new assignments, I actually have one for you.”

“Please, do tell.”

“So, it’s a girl.” He began. “She’s a gang member.”

“Please, tell me it’s not a Southside Serpent.”

“It is, how do you know them?”

“They’re from Riverdale.” Cheryl commented.

“She’s a social studies major at your college and lives at Tilbury hall.” He said. “Her name is Toni Topaz.”

“Oh my God.”

Cheryl could feel her blood frozen in her veins.

“What?”

She felt like she couldn’t breathe, the world had stopped turning, while her head was spinning. “She’s my girlfriend.”


	2. Assassin

Simon was silent for a moment. “She’s what now?”

“My girlfriend. We, huh…” Cheryl shook her head.

“I thought you were single, you’ve never mentioned her.” Simon commented.

“We are supposed to keep our private lives a secret, aren’t we?”

“There are many things that we’re supposed to do but we conveniently forget about.” Simon commented.

“I don’t have time for this.” Cheryl whispered. “Who wants her dead? And why?”

“It doesn’t say.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t say?”

“I don’t know, I’m not the one who decides who to accept.”

“Simon, she’s my girlfriend. I…” Cheryl breathed hard. “I can’t.”

“You know how this works. You don’t kill her before the deadline and I’ll be forced to assign her to somebody else. Somebody who _will_ do it.”

Cheryl looked lost. “How long do I have?”

“Six days.”

“Six days?” Cheryl gasped. “What the fuck? I need to find out why she’s in our lists.”

“You know you can’t tell her.”

“Simon, what do I do?” And, before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

“I honestly don’t know.” He whispered. “You know we always deliver.”

“What if I talked to them?”

“You know they want private lives to be private, especially for you active employees.” He replied. “I believe it’s for this exact reason.”

“Has it ever happened before?”

“Well, most of you are like… Uhm…” Simon trailed off.

“Just say it.”

“Cold, heartless people who live their lives without worrying too much about actual relationships.”

“So it has never happened before.” Cheryl sighed. “I either talk to them or murder my own girlfriend.”

“I don’t think talking to them is going to change anything.” Simon commented. “I don’t think they care.”

Cheryl looked at him. “I know, I know. Sometimes I forget about the damn four rules.”

“You forget because they weren’t your problem before today.”

“One, maintain anonymity. Two, do not ask questions. Three, be clean and precise. Four, never back out.” Cheryl said. “Which altogether mean do whatever you’re told to do and be quick about it. No questions asked.”

Simon shrugged. “I guess it’s the only way to work in this industry.”

Cheryl sighed. “I have to see her.”

“You can’t tell her.”

“I won’t tell her.” Cheryl replied. “I just want to hold her.”

The trip to Toni’s dorm only took her about fifteen minutes, but it felt endless. Her hands were shakenly grasping the steering wheel and

It was a little past three in the morning on a Friday night and people were either out clubbing or inside getting drunk, so nobody really saw her walking to the hills with her bow on her back. She took long, slow steps to the summit of the hill, quietly humming a tune to herself. The night was dark, cold and unforgiving, but Cheryl enjoyed how it made her feel. She remembered when she was younger and would always wear her red cape when using her bow, a habit she had quickly forgotten once she had become an assassin.

Black clothes had become a favourite, but she still wore a cape. Red hair wasn’t exactly concealable, and the hood on her cape was quite comfortable.  

Once she got to the highest point, she looked down. It wasn’t too far up, but it was high enough for her to get the best possible view in order to do what she drove there to do. She took a moment to look at the lights beneath her, she felt calm. She took the bow out of its case and looked at it for a moment, enjoying the silence around her. She took one arrow out and grazed the tip with her finger. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her. She usually didn’t take her phone with her while she worked, but she had forgotten about it in the commotion of her latest assignment.

 **TT**     [3.17] u were right I did get drunk  
**TT**      [3.19] we’re getting back now tho  
**TT**      [3.19] r u still with simon?   
**Cher** [3.19] Yes, darling.   
**TT**      [3.20] ill see u tomorrow?  
**Cher** [3.21] Of course, we can have dinner together.   
**TT**      [3.22] thank u for not saying lunch  
**TT**      [3.22] dinner it is  
**TT**      [3.23] I love you  
**Cher** [3.23] I love you too, Toni.

Sociopath.

Cheryl was a sociopath.

Not a psychopath, because she was able to create bonds with other people.

She felt guilt.

A single tear running down her cheek as she got ready. She was standing, her bow secured in her hands, the arrow already between her fingers.

She waited patiently, her arms steadily supporting the bow that she had been using for so long. She could hear the sound of a car approaching, and knew well enough that it was Toni’s friend’s car, taking her back to her dorm.

Cheryl knew that Toni was going to be the only one from her dorm, and she had enough time to strike from when she got out of the car to when she got to her door.

The car stopped in front of the main entrance, the loud music making Cheryl frown. Toni got out of the car, stumbling slightly as she said goodbye to her friends. She watched her smiling drunkenly at her friends as she grabbed her wallet from one of them. Toni then said goodbye once more and began walking to her dorm room. Cheryl followed her with her eyes as she steadied the arrow with her fingers.

She watched Toni taking her last steps.

She watched as she smiled for one, last time.

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

She opened her eyes and carefully aimed.

Her gloved right hand let the string go.

The arrow went flying towards Toni.

_I only miss when I mean to._

 

 


	3. Lover

Toni fell to the ground, and Cheryl was sure she had heard the sound of her phone’s screen shattering to the ground.

She closed her eyes and wiped away the tears that had begun streaming down her cheeks.

A high-pitched scream followed the deafening silence that was suffocating Cheryl.

Cheryl was running.

Like she had never ran before in her life.

She stumbled and almost fell down the hill, only managing to steady herself on a tree trunk as she sprinted downhill.

A few moments later, she was next to Toni.

Toni looked up and saw Cheryl kneeling down next to her and frowned when she realized that the red-head was carefully scanning her body.

“What happened?” Toni asked. “Why are you here?”

“I missed.” Cheryl whispered. “I missed.”

“What did you miss?”

Cheryl took a deep breath before getting up and helping Toni up. “I missed you.”

“What? Are you drunk?” Toni looked confused. “What happened?”

“Let’s just go inside.” Cheryl said, hurrying towards Toni’s dorm room. The pink haired girl followed her, still frowning.

Once they were inside, Cheryl felt like she could breathe again.

“Cheryl, baby, what’s wrong?” Toni said, placing a hand on Cheryl’s cheek. “You’ve been crying.”

Cheryl was silent.

She was now sobbing, unable to control herself anymore. Toni immediately wrapped her arms around the redhead and, for a moment, Cheryl felt safe.

She felt like Simon had never made Toni’s name and like she hadn’t just shot an arrow at her girlfriend.

She knew she could just lie.

Toni hadn’t noticed the arrow, she was too drunk to notice. She could tell her she’d been hunting.

“Cher, please, talk to me.”

“I’ve been lying to you.” Cheryl whispered once they were both sitting on Toni’s bed.

“About what?”

“About what I do on Friday nights.”

Toni swallowed hard. “Why?”

Cheryl shook her head. “Well, I haven’t really lied. Not really. Not about Fridays anyways.”

“What about, then?”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t been cheating on you or anything.”

Toni breathed hard. “It can’t be that bad, then.”

“Oh, no, it’s actually worse.” Cheryl whispered. “A lot worse.”

“Worse than cheating?”

Cheryl nodded. “I’ve been lying about my job.”

“I knew it!” Toni almost yelled. “I knew you were too rich to have a job.”

“No, darling.” Cheryl smiled. “I do have a job.”

“So what have you been lying about?”

Cheryl looked at her. “Can you please kiss me before I tell you?”

Toni was silent for a moment before nodding and doing as asked. The kiss was quick, but it still told Cheryl everything she needed to hear.

_I love you, I’ll be there, I believe in forever with us._

“So, my job is a bit different from what I told you. I do work only when they call me and on special assignments. I do spend my Friday nights with Simon from work and I do have a co-worker whose name is Canterbury.” Cheryl explained. “The objective of my job is… Quite different from what I’ve told you.”

“Alright, quit being dramatic and just tell me what it is.” Toni said. “And I won’t judge you if you tell me you’re an escort.”

“What?” Cheryl gasped before starting laughing. “I am not an escort, but I know you’d support it. I wouldn’t have lied about it, though.”

“Just say it.”

Cheryl took a deep breath. “I’m an assassin.”

Toni looked at her and furrowed her brows. “You’re a what now? Cheryl, I’m drunk, not stupid.”

“I am not joking.” Cheryl commented.

Toni bolted to her feet and Cheryl felt like she’s just been stabbed in the stomach. “What the fuck?”

“I am an assassin.” Cheryl repeated. “I work for an agency that works on commission.”

Toni started pacing back and forth. “An assassin.”

“Yes.”

“What the fuck?”

Cheryl sighed. “Can you say something else?”

“What exactly do you want me to say?” Toni asked. “Yay, how nice, let’s fuck?”

Cheryl frowned. “No, but something that makes sense.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“I need you to tell me how you feel about this first.”

Toni breathed hard. “I feel really weird, and upset. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Also, what kind of job is that? What the fuck, Cheryl?”

“I couldn’t.” Cheryl whispered. “I know, it’s a weird choice.”

“Why can you now?” Toni asked.

“Technically I can’t, but I had to.”

“Why?”

“Toni, do you hate me?” Cheryl asked. “Are you scared of me?”

Toni looked at her for a moment, with her mouth slightly gaping open. “I don’t hate you, Cheryl. And I am not scared of you. I knew you were capable of killing people, the fact that you actually do that for a living doesn’t change how I feel. It might be slightly uncommon, but I guess it’s fine.”

Once more that day, Cheryl felt like she could breathe again. “It went better than planned, then.”

“Can you please tell me why you’re telling me this now?”

“I started working for them during senior year in High School.” Cheryl began. “They saw me with my bow and thought I’d be a great assessment. So they recruited me and I started working for them.”

“So someone came up to you asking if you wanted to be an assassin and you… You said yes?” Toni asked. “I know High School was… Traumatic, to say the least but, come on!”

“Well, they offered to train me, but it had to be a secret. I then learned about the assassin thing.”

“And you were okay with it.”

“I mean, I figured it was for good reasons, and I accepted the job.”

“Alright, we still have to work on your social skills.”

“Anyways, they give me assignments every now and then and I do what I’m told before the deadline they give me.” Cheryl explained. “Simon is the guy who takes care of sorting the files and he’s the one who gives us active employees the assignments. We’re not allowed to know too much about the person or the reason why they’re being terminated, but Simon and I spend our Friday nights reading files and drinking wine.”

“People being terminated.” Toni commented. “Because that’s normal.”

Cheryl shrugged. “So I haven’t had any assignments in the past four or five weeks and that’s unusual, so I asked Simon about it tonight and he said we’ve been getting specific requests for things I refuse to do.”

“Like what?”

“Like torture and sodomy.” Cheryl explained.

“Oh.”

“We were talking about it tonight and he remembered that he had a case for me.” Cheryl said. “Turns out you were the person on the file.”


	4. Girlfriend

Toni decided sitting was easier. “Me? Why me?”

Cheryl opened her mouth to reply, but Toni stopped her before she could say anything. “Did you shoot a fucking arrow at me?”

Cheryl looked down, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Cheryl!” Toni sighed. “Did you or didn’t you shoot an arrow at me? Answer me or I’ll walk out and check if there’s an arrow on the wall myself.”

“I did.”

“So they told you that I needed to be _terminated_ and you came here to do your job.” Toni angrily said. “You must feel disappointed that you missed.”

“I didn’t miss.”

“You did.” Toni said. Her voice was different, she sounded angry. “You told me you fucking loved me right before shooting an arrow at me!”

“I only miss when I mean to.” Cheryl whispered. “I told you I love you because I do.”

“I know you never miss.” Toni sighed. “Why did you shoot it, then?”

“I had to.” Cheryl admitted. “You fell to the ground and I thought I was too nervous to shoot straight. I thought I had hurt you. Why did you fall?”

“I don’t think I want to know why you had to, I’m glad you purposely missed anyways. And I fell because I’m wasted and stumbled on the steps.” Toni commented. “Why me, though?”

“I don’t know.” Cheryl admitted. “Simon told me that it doesn’t say why on your file.”

Toni gasped “I have a file?”

“Everyone has a file.” Cheryl commented.

“What happens now, then?”

“Well, I have six days to complete the assignment.” Cheryl said. “If I don’t deliver, they will send someone else.”

Toni was silent for a moment, shaking her head with her eyes closed. “So you either kill me or I’ll get killed next week by somebody else.”

Cheryl nodded. “Yes.”

“Cheryl, what do we do?” Toni asked. “I really don’t feel like dying.”

“I won’t let it happen.” Cheryl said, looking at Toni’s hand.

Toni looked at her for a moment. She realized how scared the red-head looked. For the first time since they had started dating, Toni knew that Cheryl was hopeless. Without thinking too much, she grabbed Cheryl’s hand to hold.

“We’ll find a way.”

“We have to find out why you’re in our lists, maybe even who came to us with your name.” Cheryl commented. “I’ll ask Simon to help, but I need to be stealthy about it. We don’t want to get caught.”

"I guess getting caught means that not only I have to die, but the two of you as well. Damn you, did you really have to choose to work for an organisation of assassins?" Toni asked. “Do you think your boss knows who I am?”

“As in my girlfriend?”

Toni nodded.

“No, they don’t know. Private lives are hidden and never talked about. We know our colleagues, but we’re not allowed to talk to each other or see each other out of work.” Cheryl explained. “You and I have actually met Simon multiple times, but we have to pretend like we don’t know each other. I think they see us as some sort of killing machines with no hearts.”

Toni was looking at her with her mouth hanging slightly open. “I hope you know that that is not what you are.”

Cheryl looked at her. “Are you sure? Even after what I’ve told you?”

She was having complicated feelings about their situation. Toni was the only one, beside Jason, who had seen her for what she actually was. She had managed to look beyond her façade, and she had never cared about what other people had to say about Cheryl. She had seen her girlfriend get tense whenever someone would call her a sociopath, or an incestuous bitch, but she reacted only once.

The first time someone called Cheryl a psychotic bitch in front of Toni.

They were still in High School and had been dating for a few months when it happened. Toni knew what people thought of Cheryl, mainly because of how shocked people seemed to be whenever the topic of the two of them being together came up.

She knew what they thought.

She knew what they said.

She had heard it before they got together and Cheryl had told her about what people shouted at her when she was even younger.

Cheryl had also told her that it didn’t bother her, and that people could be mean, but she was used to it. Exactly as people were used to her being mean.

Toni had yelled at a guy for calling Cheryl a psychotic bitch after lunch.

She had screamed with all the energy she had, she had pronounced insults she wasn’t aware she knew, she had felt fire in her veins and she had wished she had rocks in her hands to throw at the guy.

The skin on her cheeks had turned an unnatural shade of red, and it got warmer and warmer with every word she spat at the guy who had dared to insult her girlfriend.

Cheryl’s reaction wasn’t what she expected, it was actually what started their first fight.

Cheryl had gotten angry and yelled at Toni, like she’d never done before.

“I don’t need you to protect me!”

“I wasn’t trying to protect you.” Toni replied. “I know well enough that you don’t need protection.”

“Why did you do it, then?”

“Because seeing someone disrespect you that way made me livid and I couldn’t help myself.”

That night, Cheryl said three words she never thought she’d get to say after Jason’s death.

“I love you.” She whispered in the freezing cold night.

Toni held her through the night and promised to be by her side, forever, no matter what was to happen to them.

 “I know you, Cheryl.” Toni said after a while. “Sure, you being an assassin is kind of unexpected and unconventional… But you’re the same Cheryl who told me this morning that it was unwise to eat a whole bag of donuts holes because I would have died.”


	5. Insane

The next morning, they both decided it was best for them to go get giant cups of coffee and talk about what to do about their situation.

Cheryl was surprised to see Simon at the Starbucks down the road, but realized soon enough that he was there for a reason. He walked closer to her while they were in line.

“She’s a target because she’s with you.” Simon whispered.

“What? Why?” Cheryl whispered back. “Cheryl had assumed it was something connected to Toni being a Serpent.

“You were assigned a case a few years back and, apparently, the victim’s father found out that it was you who did it and wants revenge.”

“How is that even possible?”

One of the first thing her agency looked for was discretion. No names, no identities, nothing. They didn’t have and employee register and gave them nicknames to assign the cases.

“It was the Berkeley boy.”

“Oh.” Cheryl breathed hard. “I see.”

“You need to break up with her, or leave. Just go fucking far away from here and never look back.” He said, before nodding at her and walking away with his cup of coffee in hand.

“Was that Simon?” Toni asked once he was gone.

Cheryl nodded. “He said they want you dead because of me.”

“What about you?”

Cheryl pursued her lips. “Because of a case, it’s… It’s complicated.”

“Talk to me.”

“Let’s get our coffees and then I’ll tell you everything I know about it.”

Toni felt nervous as they made their way to a table. She wasn’t sure if it was because she had recently found out that her girlfriend was an assassin, or because she was meant to be her next target.

“So, I had this assignment a few years back and… Well, I’m usually a planner, but that night went to shit.” Cheryl began. “It was I think around the end of my first year at this job, but I was already set on the idea of doing it at night and with a bow.”

Toni nodded, sipping her coffee.

“It was I think four in the morning, which is rather late, and I was waiting for this guy to come back from a party. I was outside, because I avoid breaking and entering as much as possible, because of possible repercussions.” Cheryl explained. “What usually happens is I plan how to do it, leave my car somewhere hidden and find the best possible place to do it. I usually go see the place a few days prior to the set date to see if there are more strategic points or whatever.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually talking about… That.”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, please, go ahead.” Toni said “I’m sorry.”

“It was sort of a rough time for me, and I had actually forgotten about the case.” Cheryl said. “Simon had to remind me about it on the day of the deadline and I freaked out because I hadn’t seen the place yet and I had no idea what his schedule was. I might have freaked out because I was at a party that night and was pretty drunk.”

“Please tell me you didn’t go while you were drunk.”

“I did.” Cheryl admitted. “And that’s why it went to shit. I had to go back home and knew that I couldn’t drive to where he lived, so I asked Veronica to drive me. Of course I had to lie about where I was going.”

“What about the bow? Didn’t she see it?”

“I hid it and lied about why I had a giant luggage with me, because that’s normal.” Cheryl explained. “So she drives me to this guy’s place and then goes back to the party and I am finally free. I look around while trying to look as normal and as sober as possible. I, of course, fail miserably and notice that people are staring at me. Then I find a place and I take out my bow and arrows and leave the suitcase there before climbing up a small tower.”

“Whilst drunk.”

“Yes, whilst drunk.” Cheryl replied. “It’s almost ten at this point and I can already tell that I’ll be here for a long time and I get bored quite easily so… I fell asleep.”

“You fell asleep.”

“Yes.”

“While waiting for the guy you had to murder.” Toni whispered.

“I was really drunk, you know I never drink.” Cheryl commented. “I woke up at I think three because of a girl with loud music in her car and I was feeling a tad less drunk, but I was terribly wrong. So, cutting short, the guy comes back and I’m steadying the bow on my hands and I keep shaking and I’m getting antsy, so I shoot an arrow and fucking miss him by like a hundred miles and start panicking until I manage to shoot a second arrow and I miss again.”

“Did you ever get him? How did he not notice that you were shooting arrows at him?”

“Because a. he was probably drunker that I was and, b. because I missed by a lot.” Cheryl explained. “I got him with the third arrow, but I guess somebody either saw me or connected the suitcase to me, because now they’re coming after you to spite me.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Toni sighed. “This is bullshit.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It literally feels like a movie. A terrible one.”

“I’m sorry, darling.”

“Don’t darling me! How in hell did you think it was safe for you to go murder someone while drunk?” Toni yell-whispered. “Are you insane?”

“I guess I am, considering the job I do.”

“No, that has nothing to do with it.” Toni commented. “You’re insane because you never fucking drink and you had to the night of an assassination. It was whiskey, right? I told you to avoid whiskey because it ruins you. Fucking whiskey.”

 

 


	6. Twin

“That’s a possibility.” Cheryl commented. “We need to go back to my place and talk about this without worrying to be heard.”

They drove to Cheryl’s apartment, both of them lost in their thoughts, not knowing what to say.

“So, what do we do now? What did Simon say?” Toni asked, once they were sitting on Cheryl’s couch.

“He says I should break up with you, or we should run away and never come back.” Cheryl explained. “Or wait until the victim’s father dies and we can get back then.”

Toni was silent for a moment. “The victim’s dad. You don’t even know he’s name.”

Cheryl pursued her lips. “No, I don’t.”

“Do you think that breaking up is going to be enough?”

“Honestly? I don’t think so.” Cheryl sighed. “We’ve been together for a long time, he’ll think that you still matter to me even if we’re broken up.”

“So I have to run away.”

“We have to run away.”

“Why we? You can stay here.”

“I don’t want to stay here if you’re not next to me.” Cheryl replied. “That is if you still want to be next to me.”

Toni grabbed her hand to hold. “Of course I want to be next to you.”

“I am so sorry, Tt.”

Toni smiled tenderly at her. “You know that the first time you called me Tt my heart stopped in my chest?”

“Why?” Cheryl asked.

“It was the night before your mother took you to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.” Toni explained, still shivering at the thought. “When you told us that you thought that your mother and uncle were after you and nana Rose.”

“I remember.” Cheryl commented.

“You called me Tt and I felt like… I don’t know, for a second, I felt complete.” Toni whispered. “I had noticed that you called your brother Jj, and he was the only one you did that for. Suddenly, you were doing it for me as well.”

“It’s true, I used to do it when referring to Jason alone.” Cheryl replied. “I guess my subconscious already knew that you were going to become the most important person in my life.”

Toni smiled at her. “You’ve called me a thousand different names, but Tt remains my favourite. Together with Cha Cha, of course.”

“Jason would have loved you.” Cheryl whispered after a while. “I know it’s cliché, and people always talk about the dead person loving their significant other, but… I know he would have. He would have endlessly teased me about you and then mocked me because I became a serpent. He would have tricked you into thinking that he couldn’t hold his alcohol and crushed you in a competition of wine drinking.”

Toni was about to cry, but felt like those weren’t her tears to shed. “Based on what you told me, I would have loved him too. And I’m sure Jason and I would have found a way to team up to make fun of you and we would have made you yell at us for drinking too much or for being too brutal with our humour.”

Cheryl wiped away the single tear that was streaming down her right cheek. “I love you, I love you so much.”

“I love you too. And Jason did as well.” Toni sighed. “I’m sure he’d been beating you up right now if he knew what was going on.”

The red-head nodded. “He would have killed me already.”

They were both silent for a moment. “We’re leaving, then. Where to?”

“Toni, we’re still in school.” Cheryl said. “We can’t just leave.”

“Well, the choice is either we leave or we die.” Toni commented. “I’d say we leave.”

“The thing is that leaving would be the safe choice only for a matter of time.” Cheryl replied. “They will find us, sooner or later. We can’t disappear. We’re going to need jobs, we’re going to use our credit cards, we’re going to do something wrong.”

“We’ll be careful.” Toni whispered. “We’ll withdraw our money and leave town.”

Cheryl looked like she was about to cry. “If they want us dead, they will get what they want.”

“What do you suggest, then? Should we make tea as we wait for them to come and off us?”

Cheryl shook her head. “A dead person can’t commission a murder.”

Toni’s eyes widened. “No.”

“Toni.”

“Cheryl, no.” Toni repeated. “I said I was okay with your peculiar job, but it doesn’t mean that I’m okay with murder.”

“What choice do we have?”

“We could run away, or fake my death, I don’t know.” Toni looked exasperated. “We’re not going to kill this man.”

“You’re not.” Cheryl whispered. “I’m an assassin, remember? I work on commission.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“When Simon gives me an assignment, I do it. No questions asked.” Cheryl explained. “Some cases are more urgent that others. What if he calls me tomorrow morning and tells me I have a priority one case?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“You’re a priority three, I have six days to finish the assignment. A priority one means it has to happen in twenty-four hours.” Cheryl said. “We’re still on day two for your case.”

“You’re telling me that your plan is to fake an assignment with priority one and go murder this guy so that my assassination won’t happen anymore, correct?”

Cheryl nodded. “If the person coming to us dies, we are obliged to close the case without the assassination.”

“It might work.” Toni whispered. “I’m still not okay with it.”

“It might be our only option.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Murderer

“We can’t.”

Cheryl shook her head. “You can’t. I can.”

“How?” Toni asked, looking incredulous.

“The usual way. Bow and arrow.”

Toni didn’t know what to say. “Cheryl, no.”

“I’ll talk to Simon, see what we can do. I’m sure he’ll support my idea.”

“Does it matter if I don’t?” Toni asked.

Cheryl closed her eyes for a second. “It’s either this or we both die so, no, it doesn’t matter if you don’t support my idea.”

Toni was about to reply, but realized it wouldn’t matter. She watched Cheryl grab her phone and text Simon.

“I told him to meet me at the cinema, so it won’t look suspicious.”

Toni’s eyes widened. “The cinema? People are going to hear you!”

“Not if we go now. Nobody ever comes to the morning show.”

Simon nodded at the both of them the moment they reached the cinema, and Toni felt uneasy. She had this idea that assassins were following them anywhere, and she feared someone might put a bullet in her head while she watched a movie.

They walked inside and took their seats. Cheryl was sitting between Simon and Toni, looking annoyed.

“We have to kill him.” She whispered once the movie started.

Simon nodded. “I know.”

Toni felt like she was going to pass out. They had no other choice.

“I’ll do my thing and find the best way to do it.” Cheryl said. “I was thinking about filing a fake commission.”

“That could work.” Simon said, taking a handful of popcorn. “We wouldn’t be allowed to pursue your girl’s assassination if he were dead.”

“My point precisely.” Cheryl commented, looking at Toni. “Running away is out of the question.”

“Yeah, I realized it would mean a life of hiding.” Simon observed.

“Murder is still wrong.” Toni whispered.

“Not when it’s necessary.” Cheryl and Simon said, at unison.

Toni rolled her eyes. “Still wrong.”

“It’s either him, or us.” Cheryl commented. “It’s evident that we have no other choice.”

Toni nodded, deciding against commenting again. She knew it was pointless and, as much as she despised the way they had found, she knew that it was the only one possible.

“I’m going tonight.” Cheryl said. “But you know I’m going to need at least today and tomorrow.”

“You’re still on day two with her, right?” Simon asked, and Cheryl nodded. “I’ll file a priority one for him and assign it to you tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow night.”

Toni felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was happening, and there was nothing she could do to stop her. Deep down, she knew that it was Cheryl’s job. She’d done it countless of times before, and didn’t seemed bothered by what her job entailed.

Simon nodded, and they kept watching the movie in silence.

Once Cheryl and Toni were back home, the air felt heavy.

Cheryl took a deep breath. “I understand that this might be awful to you, but it’s the way I am.”

“I know.”

“I’m doing this to protect you, but I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore.” Cheryl said. “I just want you to be safe, but it doesn’t have to be with me.”

“It’s more complicated than that.” Toni said.

“It’s not. Not really.” Cheryl observed.

“You think it would be easy to break up with you over this?” Toni asked. “I honestly wish it was, but I’m too in love with you to let you go. I just can’t imagine a life without you by my side. Plus, I’m part of a gang, and I won’t lie to you and tell you that none of my companions have ever committed murder.”

“So, you’re okay with it.”

“Not really.” Toni whispered. “But I’m not against it entirely.”

Cheryl nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I love you.”

Toni smiled. “Yes, you can do that.”


	8. Planner

When sundown came, Cheryl got changed into her usual stakeout clothes. She was wearing all black, with her hair tied up so that it wouldn’t be too visible. Toni watched her change, feeling like she wished there was a different way.

“I’ll be out for a while.” Cheryl said once she was done. “Are you sleeping here tonight?”

Toni nodded. “I’ll be here when you come back.”

“Don’t wait up.” Cheryl replied. “It’s going to take me from one to three hours.”

“What is it that you’re doing tonight?”

“I don’t like doing priority one cases because it means that I only have twenty-four hours to get it done.” Cheryl said. “I normally use all the time I have to follow the person and understand their schedule. Because I’m doing the job tomorrow night, I’ll be looking at the house tonight and learning what he does at night, so that I can handle it tomorrow without too many problems.”

“Be careful.” 

“Always.”

Simon had given her the man’s address, and Cheryl parked her car in a parking lot nearby. She went to the house’s actual location and looked around. She knew that the man was still at work, and looked at the big windows. Once she was done examining the perimeter, she walked around to find the perfect spot for the following night. Simon had checked the database that afternoon, telling her what car he owned and what his work schedule was. She had happily learned that he worked at night and normally came back around four a.m. After minutes of walking, she found the perfect spot. There were a few trees in the proximity of the house, and they looked full enough to hide her and her bow. She climbed up on one of them, and waited for the man to come back.   
She realised soon enough that the case felt different. The waiting felt endless and she had this feeling in the pit of her stomach…  
It was anger.  
She was feeling angry.  
She hadn’t stopped to think about this man wanting her girlfriend dead before that moment, and realised that the anger was eating her alive.  
She had always seen her job as any other job. She had never really stopped to think that the people she was murdering weren’t just people.

She was murdering sons.  
Daughters.  
Mothers.  
Fathers.  
Friends.  
Grandparents.  
Uncles.

She had never thought her job could have some kind of impact on her personal life. Not like that.  
She watched the guy walking back home. Wrote down a few of his habits. Felt satisfied. Drove back home.  
Toni was still awake, waiting for her.

“How did it go?”

Cheryl looked at her. “I am so sorry.”

“What for?” Toni asked, confused.

“My job. The shitty life choices I make.” Cheryl explained. “I don’t really know what happened out there, but I realised that, a few weeks ago, I sent an arrow flying towards a young girl. She was probably someone’s daughter. Someone’s sister. Someone’s girlfriend.”

Toni was even more confused.

“I know that this is stupid, because she was a person even before being someone’s something and I should feel guilty because I killed someone and not because they were someone’s child.” Cheryl continued. “I knew from day one that I was killing people, but I never once stopped to think that there are people out there who care about these people. A mother might have had to tell her kids that daddy wasn’t coming home. A father might have had to tell his wife that their kid had been murdered. Someone might have kissed their partner goodbye, only to never see them again.”

“You’re rambling.”

“It could have happened to us.” Cheryl whispered. “If Simon hadn’t assigned your case to me, you’d be dead by now. Dead.”

Toni sighed. “But it didn’t happen.”

“You’d be dead because of me.” Cheryl said. “You’d be dead because I’m a heartless bitch who kills children for a living.” 

Toni got up and walked closer to her girlfriend. “Look at me. I’m here. I’m well. I’m alive.”

She grabbed Cheryl’s right hand put it to her face. “See? I’m here. I’m okay.”

“You’re here.” Cheryl took a deep breath. “Because we were lucky. I need to stop doing this.”

Toni nodded. “You made a mistake. You’re working to be better.”

“Getting a fringe is making a mistake.” Cheryl replied. “Murdering people for a living isn’t a mistake. It’s what essentially makes me an awful person.”

“Cheryl, stop.” Toni warned. “This isn’t going to change what you did, but you can change your life. You can become a better person and you will.”

“It won’t bring back all those people.”

Toni shook her head. “It won’t.”

“What’s the point?” Cheryl asked.

“The point is making sure you don’t spend the rest of your days beating yourself up for a choice you made when you were seventeen.” Toni replied. “Yes, you’re right, it wasn’t a conventional mistake, but you can make it better anyways.”

Cheryl was silent for a moment. “You’re right.”

“You’re a Blossom, walk tall.” Toni said. “Also, we’re both in a gang. We’re not exactly what people think of when they picture a good person.”

 

 


End file.
